Sound recording and reproducing machine



L. J; SIMONS SOUND RECORDING AND'REPRODUCING MACHINE Juiy14, 1942.,

Filed April 5,, 1949 6 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR 100/5 J. .SIMONS July 14,1942. I NS I 2,289,555

SOUND RECORDING ANDv REPRODUGING MACHINE Filed April 5 1940 eSheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR BY flORNEY 1 0/ 100/5 J7 /MO 5 5 E: I 5 N July14, 1942. SIMQNS 2,289,555

sounn RECORDING AND REPRODUCING MACHINE I Filed April 5, 1940 6Sheets-Sheet 3 INVEVNTOIR 100/5JT5/M0A/5 7 ATTORNEY Jul 14, 1942. L,SMQNS 2,289,555

souma RECOR ING AND IREPRODUCING MACHINE Filed A ril 5, 1940 i 6Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR 100/5 J. sumo/v.5

BY Y

I ATTORNEY July 14, 1942, l....:. SIMONS SOUND RECORDING AND REPRODUCINGMACHINE 6 sheets-sheet 5 Filed April 5 1940 w 1 July 14, 1942.

L. J. SIMONS SOUND RECORDING AND REfR ODUG-ING'MAGRINE' Filed April 5,1940' ,6 Sheets-Sheet 6 I INVENTOR Lou/5 J. SIMONJ Patented July 14, 1

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SOUND ascoanr ifg fiii REPRODUCING v LouisJ. Simons, Long Beach, N. Y., asslgnor of one-third to Bernard Arbuse,and one-third to Sol P. Schechter, both of New York, N. Y.

' Application April 5, 1940, Serial No. 328,108

19 Claims. (Cl. 179- 100.!)

This invention relates to sound recording and reproducing machine. It isparticularly directed to a machine for recording sound on an elongated,flexible endless strip or film.

An object of this invention is to provide in a machine of the characterdescribed in which the major part of the strip on which the sound isrecorded is wound in a roll or spool spirally on a shaft and passes fromthe outer and irmer ends of the roll or spool around rollers, pulleys,guides and the like, and past the'recording portion or pickup ofthemachine, highly improved means to keep the strip moving during'therecording, reproducing or reversing movement of the strip withoutbinding or tearing thereof, whereby a considerable length of recordingstrip may be emciently used in a compact machine, the concourtproceedings and-the like, may be conven-' struction being such that thereproduction may be repeated without reversing the direction of drive torewind the strip.

Another object of this invention is to provide in a machine ofthecharacter described, highly improved means for manually moving thepickup transversely of the strip to any desired position, means beingfurther provided to automatically move the pickup transversely in onedirection or the other, in synchronization with the movement of thestrip, either when said strip is moving forwardly during recording orreproducing, or when said strip moves in a reverse direction.

Another object of this invention is to provide in a machine of thecharacter described, highly improved means to indicate what linearportion of the film is at the pickup, and also to indicate in which lineof recording the pickup is located.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a machine of thecharacter described which.

can be reversed, that is run backwards, to any portion or the completelength of the recording strip. With the improved machine, a person canrecord, and if interrupted, can reverse the machine to any desiredpoint, as indicated on the iently recorded. on a single record strip.

Yet a further object of this invention is to pro- I vide in a machine ofthe character described a rewind mechanism which can be used in home orcommercial motion picture projectors, as well as in sound recordingmachines. Today on a mo tion picture projector there are two spools, andin projecting the picture the film runs from one spool onto the other.Then to reproduce again the film has to be first reversed so that it canbe run again. With the present improved rewinder mechanism, only onespool is necessary.

To repeat the run of the film it is not necessary to reverse the film,so that for motion pictures the record spool and the reversing apparatuswill be eliminated, thus increasing the life of the indicatingmechanism, and then reproduce the reversed portion, and again recordafter the reproduction has ended.

A further object of this invention is to provide a machine of thecharacter described having an automatic-register which is tripped at theend of each line of recording (full length of strip) to present a spaceon the register on which a memorandum may be made of the subject matterrecorded in the corresponding record line.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a machine of thecharacter described which film.

Still another object of this invention is to provide in a machine of thecharacter described, an electric pick-up adapted to engage the strip forrecording or reproducing, and a weight on the pick-up to press the pickup down against the strip, when recording, means beingprovided toautomatically lift both the pick-up and the weight when reversing themotor, and also for automatically lifting only the weight off thepickup, when cutting in the reproducing circuit.

Yet a further object of this invention is to provide a strong, rugged,durable and compact machine of the character described, provided withradio amplification-for reproducing, which shall be relativelyinexpensive to manufacture, sure and positive in action, easy tomanipulate, and yet practical and efllcient to a high degree in use.Other objects of this invention will'in part be obvious and in parthereinafter pointed out.

The invention accordingly consists in the features,of construction,combinations of elements, and arrangement of parts which will beexemplified in the construction hereinafter described,

and of which the scope .of application will be indicated in thefollowing claims.

In' the accompanying drawings, in which is shown one of the variouspossible illustrativeembodiments of this invention,

Fig. 1 is a front elevational. view of a machine embodying theinvention, withsthe frontcover removed.

is so constructed that one record strip will take Fig. 2 is across-sectional view taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fi 3 is a rear elevational view thereof, with the rear cover removed:

cording film or strip.

Fig. 3a is a cross-sectional view taken on line 3a-3a of Fig. 3;

Fi .4 is a. cross-sectional view taken on line '4-4 of Fig. 3; Fig. 5 isa cross-sectional view taken on line 5-5 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken on line.

5-4; of Fig. 1;

Fig. '7 is across-sectional viewtaken on line 11 of Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 4 Fig. 10 is anelevational, cross-sectional view taken through the spool shaft;

Fig. 11 is a cross-sectional view taken on line "-41 of Fig. 10; I

Fig. 12 is a cross-sectional view taken on line i2--i2 of Fig. 10;

Fig. 13 is a cross-sectlonal view taken on line |3I3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 14 is a cross-sectional view taken on line l4i4 ofFig.2;

Fig. 15 is a cross-sectional view taken on line I5-l 5 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 16 is a front, enlarged, elevational view of a portion of the paperon the recording drum;

and

Fig. -17 is a top plan view of a piece of the re- Referring now indetail tothe drawings, l9 designates a machine embodying the invention.The same comprises a supporting casing or frame H, in which is mounted amotor l2 provided with reduction transmission box l3, having a driven oroutput shaft [4. Transmission box l3 may be are moved to the right todisengage the teeth 20d from the teeth I40, and to engage the teeth 20!'with the teeth l4e. Thus, when the pin 24 is up, sprocket wheel 20a isrotated, and when said pin is down, sprocket wheel 20b is rotated.

The pin 24 isbiased downwardly by a coil compression spring 26 thereon,engaging at its upper end the bracket 25, and at its lower end, a collar21 fixed to said pin.

;Means is provided to raise and lower the clutch pin 24. To this end,there is mounted on the frame II a horizontal shaft 30, to the front endof which is attached a pointed handle 3| located at the front of themachine. Fixed to the shaft 39 is a cam or eccentric 32, for the purposehere'- inafter appearing. Pivoted to the frame, as at 33, is a lever 34,having one arm provided with a fork 36 engaging between a pair of spacedcollars 3'! on pin 24. Pivoted to said arm 35 is a link 38 formed with aslot 39 at its lower end, through which the shaft 39 passes. Fixed tothe link 38 is a pin carrying a roller 4| contacting the cam oreccentric 32.

connected to the top wall of frame H by spring 93a. The motor i2 may besupported on an inclined base i5, within frame ii, a soft rubber pad i6being interposed between the base and the motor. ,One end of the drivenshaft 14 may be journalled iin a plate ii; the ends whereof aresupported on rubber bushin s i8 fixed to bosses 89 on the frame M.

Fixed on shaft i4 is a pulley [4d formed with a hub i ib having clutchteeth i4c. outer end of the shaft 84, a collar i 4d having clutch teethMe. Keyed to the shaft l4, and disposed between the hub 14b and collar(1, are a Fixed to the' pair of sprocket wheels 20a and 20b rotatablymounted on shaft i 4. Sprocket wheel 20a is formed with a hub 200 havingclutch teeth 29d adapted to engage the teeth Me on hub l4b. Sprocketwheel 2% is formed with a hub 20e having clutch teeth 20f adapted toengage the teeth Me of the collar Md.

Clutch means is rovided to shift wheels 20a, 20b on shaft 14 toselectively engage either wheel 20a with hub M1) or wheel 2% with collar14d.

To this end, there is fixed to the frame il' a,

bracket 25, on which is slidably mounted a vertical pin 24 forming partof clutch mechanism 20. At the upper end ofpin 24 is a member 2! havinga pair of upwardly extending, inclined, bifurcated arms 22 and 23straddling the hubs 20c and 20a, and .disposed on opposite sides of thesprocket wheels 20a and 2%. 'Arm 22 extends above arm 23 and both armshave fingers inclined in the same direction, so that when pin 24 israised, the spro ket wheels 2011 and 2% are mounted to the left toengagethe teeth 29d with the teeth Me for rotating the sprocket wheel 23a, anddisengaging the sprocket wheel Ziib. When the pin 24 moves downwardly,sprocket wheels 20a and Zilb It will now be understood that the spring26 lowers the pin 24, tending to rotate lever 34 in a clockwisedirection, looking at Fig. 3 of the drawings, to keep the roller 4| inengagement with the cam 32. Upon turning the handle 3|, shaft 30 will berotated to turn the cani 32 for lifting link 38 and rotating lever 34ina counterclockwise direction, to lift pin 24 to change the drive fromwheel 29a to wheel 20b.

Rotatably mounted on the frame H is a shaft 49, parallel to shaft 14,carrying a sprocket wheel 49a, and also a shaft 54, parallel thereto,carrying a sprocket wheel 54a. Alsorotatably mounted on the frame ii isanother parallel shaft 52 carrying a sprocket wheel 52a. Received on thesprocket wheels 20?), 49a, 54a and 52a: is a sprocket chain 60. i i IThe mid portion of the chain 89 is crossed so that shafts l4 and 52rotate in one direction and shafts 49 and 54 rotate in an oppositedirection.

Mounted on the frame is a shaft 50 carrying an idler take up sprocketwheel 50a engaging the sprocket chain 60. The output shaft i4 rotates ina clockwise direction looking at Fig. 3 of the drawings. When the clutchmechanism 20 is down, and clutch member 20c is in engagement with thecollar l'4d, rotation of shaft l4 and wheel 20b in a clockwise directionwill cause rotation of the sprocket wheel 54a in a counterclockwisedirection.

On shaft 54 is a secondsprocket wheel 54b connected by sprocketchain 540to the sprocket wheel 20a. Rotatablymounted on the frame is an idlerpulley 54d to take up the slack in the chain 540.

When the clutch mechanism is raised to move the clutch hub 29cinengagement with the -collar Mb, then clutch wheel 20a is rotated in aclockwise direction to rotate the shaft 54 also in a clockwisedirection.

On shaft 49 is a sprocketed film feeding roller 490. On shaft 54 is asprocketed film feeding roller 54), aligned with the roller 49c.Rotatably mounted on the frame is a shaft 45 carrying a pulley 45a; andon shaft 49 is a pulley 49b aligned therewith, and connected therewithby a belt 65. On shaft 45 is a portion 58 of square, transverse,cross-section. Mounted thereon is a hub 69 having a portion 69a oftransverse, outer,

regular polygonal cross-section. Said outer surface is thus formed witha plurality of fiat faces 59 Hub 69 is also formed, for the purposeheremay be made by a needle on an electric pick-up,

to be described hereinafter. The strip 11 is endless and passes from theinside of the. spool, sideways at an inclination out of the plane of thespool, upwardly intoengagement with the sprocketed feed roller 49c andthrough anopening 80a in the rear wall 80 of the casing II. The stripthen passes over an upwardly and forwardtrack 8|, am, rollers safes,54f, not in the-plane of the spool 16, the film passing to one side ofthe plane of said spool as it emerges from the inside of the spool, andsaid strip being guided back to the plane of said spool by the coneroller 81 as the strip passes onto the outer side of said spool.

Attached to the casing wall 8Ia, as at 9|, is a spring strip 9Iacarrying a sleeve 92 of any suitable soft material to contact the tainthe same on the track.

Fixed to the bottom wall He of the frame is strip 11 and re- -a bracket94 which carries a pair of parallel ly curved wall or film guide 8Iaonto a down-.'

wardly inclined wall 8|. The walls 8| and 8Ia are fixed with respect tothe casing II and constitute a film track. I

The film then passes beneath a guide Blb fixed to the frame 8|, thenover aplaten' 82 and .be-

tween a pair of spaced rollers 84 and 85 rotatably mounted on the frame,and then downwardly and around the roller 41a rotatably mounted on shaft41, then upwardly and around the sprocketed film feed roller 5415, thenaround an idler' roller 86 and in engagement with a cone pulley 81, backto the outside of the spool I6.

The cone pulley 81 guides the film 11 back to the plane of the spool I6. on shaft 41 is a'fiy wheel 41b to help feed the film when the motoris operated.

Fixed to the shaft I4, and rotatable therewith,

is a pulley I4a. Rotatably mounted on the frame II is a stud shaft towhich is fixed a pulley 5Ia aligned with pulley Ma and connected theretoby a belt SI. On shaft 5| isa second pulley Slb. Rotatably mounted onthe frame is a shaft 46, on which is mounted a pulley 46a aligned withpulley 5Ib and connected thereto by a belt 63. Thus, whenever the motoris running shaft (6 will .be rotated in the same direction no matterwheher wheel 201: or b is being rotated. on shaft 46 is a kicker orbrush 66a comprising a metal hub 66 carrying a substantially squarerubber tread 6,! having rounded corners, to kick up spool I6 and keepthe film from binding.

It will be noted that the direction of rotation of shaft may be reversedby the reversing mechanism 20, whereas, the direction of rotation of thekicking or brushing device 66a re-- mains constant. When the film isbeing fed forwardly, the kicker 66a and the shaft 45 rotate in the samedirection, that is clockwise, looking at Fig. 3 of the drawings. Whenthe film is being moved in reverse direction, the shaft 45-rotates in acounter-clockwise direction while the kicker moves in a clockwisedirection, and the rounded corners of the tread 61 and the kicker punchthe spool as the kicker rotates to prevent the film from binding ortearing. Furthermore, the polygonal faces of portion 59a of the hub69.which engage the inner convolution of the spool prevents binding ofthe strip.

Pivoted on shaft a, on 'Which the roller 85 is mounted, is an elongatedbar 89, to one side of which is fixed a weight 89a. The outer end of bar89 engages within groove 690 to keep the convolutions of the speed I6 inone plane. Fixed to the back wall 80 of the frame is a downwardlyinclined guide 90 onto which passes the portion of the film whichemerges out from the inside of the spool. Thus, the guide 90 guides thestrip 11 from the inside of the spool I6 to the sprocketed roller 49c.

It will be noted that the roller 49c, the film bars 95, on oppositesides of the spool I6 and contacting a portion of the strip 11 which isin advance of the spool.

. Means is provided to record a sound track-on the strip 11 as it ismoved forwardly by the operation of the motor I2. To this end, shaft 54carries a bevel gear 96. Rotatably mounted on the frame is a shaft 91disposed at right angles to the shaft 54. On shaft 91 is a bevel gear91a meshing with bevel gear 86. On shaft 91 is a worm 91b. I

- Journalled in the frame I I is a sleeve 98 disposed parallel to theshaft 54. Extending through the sleeve 98, and keyed thereto, as at 98a,is a shaft 98b provided with a threaded portion 080. Sleeve 98 has afriction disc 98d at one end, and keyed to said sleeve is a secondfriction disc 98c. Rotatably mounted on the sleeve and between frictiondiscs 98d and 98c, and contacting the same, is a 'worm wheel I00 meshingwith the worm 971). Thus, when shaft 91 is rotated, the worm wheel I00will be rotated, and through a friction drive will rotate shaft 901).

Fixed to the top of the frame is a guide IOI formed with a transverseslot I02. Extending through said slot is a bracket I04 havinganinternally screw threaded opening I05 receiving the threads of the screwthreaded portion-98c of shaft 90b. As shaft 98b rotates, bracket I04will be moved transversely in the slot I02. Fixed to the upwardlyextending portion of bracket I04, is a longitudinal bar I06. formed witha pair of square shaped openings I04a, and fixed to the guide IOI, are apair of transversely extending, parallel, square shaped pins I01slidably extending through the openings I04a. The pins I 01 thus guidethe bracket.

Bar I .06 extends rearwardly, and pivoted to said bar I06 on pivot H0,is an electric pick-up III carrying a downwardly extending needle II2adapted to contact the upper surface of the film or strip 11. Fixed tothe top of the pick-up is a transverse bar II3, to'the underside'ofwhich there is attached a pair of spaced guide members I I4 formingtherebetween a groove I I5 to receive a guide member IIB fixed to thebar I06.

When the handle 3| is turned to reverse position to actuate the clutchmechanism 20, the

lever 34 is rotated in a clockwise direction, looking at Fig. 3. Lever34 has an arm 34a extending in a direction opposite to the arm 35.Attached to the outer end of arm 34a is a pin 34b projecting upwardlythrough the frame to a position beneath bar II 3. At the upper end ofpin 34b is a spring 340. When the handle 3| is I moved to reverse, pin34b moves upwardlyito lift bar H3 and hence the electric pick-up off thefilm, While the film is being reversed,

Pivoted to the rear end of bar I06 is a weighted plate I25, to theunderside of which is attached a rubber block I21 contacting the upperside of the electric pick-up I II to press the needle 41a and 86 areBracket I04 is against the film toproduce a sharp and clear soundgroove. Attached to the plate I and extending sideways therefrom, is abar I21a. Mounted on the frame is a solenoid i20 provided with anarmature I29, to which is attached an upwardly extending pin I providedwith a roller I3I at its upper end disposed beneath the bar I21a.

Coupled to the shaft 30, as by coupling I32, is a switch, not shown, butadapted to cut in a sound reproducing and amplification radiocircuit ofany well known suitable construction. Upon turning the handle 3| to aposition where the reproducing switch is turned on, the solenoid circuitfor solenoid I28, will also be energized by closing of a switch (notshown). Thus, when the handle 3I is turned to freproduce position, thereproducing circuit is cut in and the solenoid circuit is also closed tomove the pin I30 upwardly to raise the weighted plate I25, so that al-'speaker I40 .of any suitable construction in conthough the electricpick-up is down with the as the motor operates to record or reproduce,

the pick-up will move transversely of the film. It will now beunderstood that a continuous sound track will be made in the film as thefilm is fed for recording. The threads of portion 980 of shaft 98b maybe proportioned in accordance with the number of circuitous lines ofrecording it is desired to obtain on the film. Thus, if it is desired toobtain a predetermined number of continuous-convolutions of sound trackon the film, the threads 980 are so proportioned that the pick-up willmove the width of the portion of the strip which receives the soundtrack when the film has been fed said predetermined number of completetimes past the electric pick- Means is provided for manually shiftingthe pick-up. To this end, a handle 14 is fixed to the forward end ofsaid shaft 981). It will now be understood that the handle 14 may berotated to manually move the pick-up without affecting the .worm wheelI00 by reason of the friction clutch means between said worm wheel andsaid shaft. Preferably the gearing for turning the shaft 981) will begiven one revolution when one complete length of film is fed pastthepick-up.

Means is provided to indicate the location of the pick-up needle, thatis, in which line or convolution of sound track the needleis located atany particular time.

To this end, there is fixed to the shaft 98b, a bevel gear 13 meshingwith a bevel gear 13a on a shaft 13b which is connected to any suitablerevolution counter 13c mounted on the machine. The bevel gears 13 and.1311 are of similar dimension, and hence the numbers indicated on therevolution counter 13c indicate the number of revolutions through whichthe shaft 981) has been rotated, and hence the number of times the filmhas been fed past the pick-up, and hencethe convolution of sound trackin which the pick-up needle is located.

The machine may be provided with a loud nection with the soundreproducing circuit.

Means is provided to permit a memorandum of the subject matterrecordedoneach convolution of sound track on the film. To this end,there fixed to the frame, a bracket I in which is mounted a solenoidcoil I5I provided with an armature I 52 normally biased downwardly by aspring I54 and adapted to be raised when the solenoid is energized.Fixed to the bracket I50 is a bracket I55 formed with a bearing openingI56. Fixed to the casing in any suitable manner, is a plate I58 providedwith a bearing opening I59 aligned with the bearing opening I56.

Journalled in the bearing openings I56, I59 is a shaft I60. Fixed tosaid shaft is a hub IBI, and fixed to said hub is a drum I62 rotatablewith said shaft. Spirally wound on the shaft I60 is a spring I8 3, theinner end of which is fixed to the shaft I60, as at I65. The outer endof thespring' is fixed, as at I80, to the backing plate I58. Thus, asthe shaft I50 is rotated in a clockwise direction, looking at Fig. 15 ofthe drawings, drum I62 will likewise be rotated in the same direction,and the spring I84 will be tensioned.

Mounted on the drum I62 is an outer drum I10, held thereon by aplurality of springs I" of any suitable construction. On the outside ofthe drum I10 is a sheet of paper I12 divided into numbered spaces onwhich may be written any suitable notes or memorandum referring to thesubject'matter recorded on the film, there preferably being as manyspaces as there are convolutions of sound track on the film.

Means is provided to advance the drum I10 throughv an'angle equivalentto one space each time the film moves a full length past'the pickup.Tothis end, there is fixed on the shaft I80 a ratchet I13 having as manyteeth as there are spaces on the paper sheet I12 (and hence as 1 manyconvolutions of sound track on the strip Fixed to said shaft I60 is alsoa bell crank I18 having one arm I19 passing through an opening I in thearmature I52. Bell crank I18 also has an arm I82 on which is pivoted, asat I83, a:

and normally held in engagement with said ratchet by the spring I86.

The strip of film 11 is formed .with a notch 11a in one edge thereof.Slidably mounted on the frame is a shaft I90, to which is attached a pinI9I' contacting one edge of the strip 11.

On shaft I is a contactmember I93 normally engaging the contact memberI94 mounted on the frame and insulated therefrom. Contacts I93 and I94are interposed in the circuit for the solenoid I5I.

Any suitable spring means I5Ia may be provided to press the pin I9Itowards the edge of the strip 11.' When the notch 11a passes the pinI9I, said pin moves into the notch under the action of the spring I5! a,thus shifting the shaft I90 and separating the contacts I93, I96 to openthe solenoid circuit and permit the spring I5 5 to push the armature I52downwardly for rotating the bell crank I18 in a clockwise direction,looking at Fig. 14 of the drawings, to rotate the.

ratchet I13 an angular distance equivalent to one tooth, and hence alsorotating the drum one space. Thus, each time a full length of strip I1is run past the pick-up, the solenoid is released once to turn the drumone space. A suitable starting-pointer 200 may be fixed with respect tothe frame to indicate the ,space on the drum which corresponds to aconvolution of sound track being recorded.

Means is provided to prevent the drum from being rotated in a backwarddirection. To this end, there is pivoted to the frame, as on pivot 202,a lever 203 formed with a handle 204 at its forward end. On lever 203.is a portion 205 engaging a tooth of the ratchet I13. Lever 203 isinterconnected by a spring 206, attached to the frame, for retaining theportion 205 in engagement with the ratchet.

It willbe noted that as the drum rotates forwardly, the spring I64 istensioned. Upon depressing the handles 204 and I88 to release the levers203 and I84 from the ratchet, the spring I64 will rotate the drumbackwards to starting position. On the drum is a stop pin 210 adapted toengage a fixed pin 2 on the frame at the place where space No 1 isabreast of the indicating pointer 200.

The machine may be provided with any suitable radio control knobs 220and 22!, and also with any kind of a light indicator 223 to indicatewhen the machine is recording. Such a light may be closed by a switchcontrolled by shaft 30.

It will thus be seen that there is provided a device in which theseveral objects of this invenmeet the conditions of practical use.

As various possible embodiments might be made of the above invention,and as various changes mightbe made in the embodiment above set forth,it is'to be understood that all matter herein set forth or shown in theaccompanying drawings is to be interpreted as illustrative andnot in alimiting sense.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent:

1. In a sound recording machine for recording sound on an endless strip,part of which is wound spirally into a spool, advancing means engaging aportion of the strip outside of the spool, to move the strip past apick-up, and means to vibrate the spool as the strip is being advanced,to prevent binding of the convolutions of said spool.

2. In a sound recording machine for recording sound on an endless strip,part of which is wound spirally into a spool, advancing means engaging aportion of the strip outside of the spool, to move the strip past apick-up, means to vibrate the spool as the strip is being advanced, toprevent binding of the convolutions of said spool, means to guide theinnermost convolution of the spool to one side of the plane of saidspool, and means to guide a portion of the strip adjacent the outermostconvolution of said spool, back to the plane of said spool. i

3. In a sound recording machine for recording sound on an endless strip,part of which is wound spirally into a spool, rotary advancing meansengaging a'portion of the strip outside of the spool, rotary means 'tovibrate the spool as the strip is being advanced to prevent binding ofthe convolutions of said spool, and means for reversing the direction ofrotation of the advancing means relative to the direction of rotation ofthe vibrating means.

4. In a sound recording machine for recording sound on an endless strip,part of which is wound spirally into a spool, advancing means engaging aportion of the strip outside of the spool, and means below the spool torepeatedly kick the spool upwardly as the strip is being advanced, toprevent binding of the convolutions of said spool.

5. In a sound recording machine for recording sound on an endless strip,part of which is wound spirally into a spool, advancing means-engaging aportion of the strip outside of the, spool, means below the spool torepeatedly kick the spool upwardly as the strip is being advanced, toprevent binding of the convolutions of said spool, a shaft on which thespool is wound, having a non-circular exterior surface, and means torotate said shaft.

6. In a sound recording and reproducing machine for recording sound onan endless strip having a portion'wound in a spool, means to guide theinnermost convolution of said spool out (fl the plane of said spool,means to guide a portion of the strip adjacent the outermost convolutionof said spool; back to the plane of said spool, an advancing meansengaging a portion of the other, to prevent binding of the strip.

7. In a sound recording and reproducing machine for recording sound onan endless strip having a portion wound in a spool, advancing meansengaging a portion of the strip which is not in the spool and which isbetween the innermost convolution and the outermost convolution, to movesaid strip, a shaft on which the spool is mounted and contacting theinner convolution of said spool, said shaft being of polygonal outercross-section, and means to rotate the shaft.

8. In a. sound recording and reproducing machine for recording sound onan endless strip having a portion wound in a spool, advancing meansengaging a portion of the strip which is not in the spool and which isbetween the innermost convolution and the outermost convolution, rotarymeans for vibrating said spool, whereby to keep the convolutions of thespool loose with respect to one another; to prevent binding of thestrip, means to rotate said vibrating means, a shaft on which the spoolis mounted, means for rotating said shaft, and means for reversing thedirection of rotation of said shaft without reversing the direction ofrotation of said vibrating means.

- 9. In a sound recording and reproducing machinefor recording sound onan endless strip having a portion wound in a spool,--a shaft on whichthe spool is mounted, means to rotate said shaft, an electric pick-upengaging said strip,

advancing means engaging a portion of the strip which is not in thespool and which is between the innermost convolution and the outermostconvolution, to move said strip past said pickup, rotary means tovibrate said spool, whereby to keep the convolutions of said spool loosewith respect to one another, to prevent binding of the v rection ofrotation of said vibrating means, and

means for automatically lifting said pick-up out versing the directionof rotation of said shaft.

10. In a sound recording and reproducing machine for recording sound onan endless strip having a portion wound in a spool on a shaft, means forrotating said shaft, advancing means engaging a portion of the stripwhich is not in the spool and which is between the innermost convolutionand the outermost convolution, rotary means to vibrate said spool,whereby to keep the convolutions thereof loose with respect to oneanother, to prevent binding of the strip' on said shaft, means forreversing the direction of rotation of 'said shaft without reversing thedirection of rotation of said vibrating means, an electric pick-uphaving a needle contacting said strip to make a sound track recordthereon, means for automatically lifting said pick-up out of engagementwith respect to said strip upon reversing the direction of rotation ofsaid shaft, a weighted member on said pick-up to increase the pressureof the needle on said strip, a reproducing' and amplification circuit,switch means for said circuit, and means for lifting said weight off thepick-up upon actuating said switch to cut in said circuit.

11. In a sound recording and reproducing machine for recording sound onan endless strip having a portion wound in a spool on a shaft,

-said shaft without reversing the direction of rotation of saidadvancing means, an electric pickup having a needle contacting saidstrip to make matically move the'pick-up transversely of the strip insynchronization with movement of the strip, whereby to produce acontinuous circuitous sound track on the strip, and means to manuallymove said pick-up transversely of the strip, without moving said strip.

14. In a sound recording and reproducing machine for recording sound onan endless strip having a portion wound in a spool, an electric pick-uphaving a needle contacting said strip to make a sound track thereon,advancing means engaging a portion of the strip which is not in thespool and which is between the innermost convolution and the outermostconvolution,

' means to automatically move the pick-up transa sound track recordthereon, means for automatically lifting said pick-up .out of engagementwith respect to said strip upon reversing the direction of rotation ofsaid shaft; a weighted member on said pick-up to increase the pressureof the needle on said strip, a reproducing and amplification circuit,switch means for said circuit, and means for lifting said weight of]?the pick-up upon actuating said switch to cut in said circuit.

12. In a sound recording and reproducing machine for recording sound onan endless strip having a portion wound in a spool on'a shaft, means forrotating said shaft, advancing means engaging a portion of the stripwhich is not in the spool and which is between the innermost convolutionand the outermost convolution, means for reversing the direction ofrotation of said shaft withoutreversing the direction of rotation ofsaid advancing means, an electric pickup having a needle contacting saidstrip to make a sound track record thereon, means for autoniaticallylifting said pick-up out of engagement with respect to-said strip uponreversing the direction of rotation of said shaft, a weighted member onsaid pick-up to increase the pressure of the needle on said strip, areproducing and amplification circuit, switch means for said circuit,and means for lifting said weight ofi the pick-up upon actuating saidswitch to cut in said circuit, said weighted member being adapted to belifted together with said pick-up when said .pick up is lifted uponreversing the direction of rotation of said shaft.

13. Ina sound recording and reproducing mas versely of the strip insynchronization with movement of the strip, whereby to produce acontinuous circuitous sound track on the strip, and means to indicatethe position of the pickup needle with respect to said strip.

15. In a*sound recording and reproducing machine for'recording sound onan endless strip, advancing means engaging a portion of the strip,

a drum, a record sheet on the drum, and means forrotating said drumthrough a predetermined angle each time a predetermined length of stripis advanced by said advancing means.

16.- In a sound recording and reproducing machine for recording sound onan endless strip,

advancing means engaging a portion of the strip, a drum, a record sheeton the drum, means for rotating said drum through a predetermined angleeach time a predetermined length of strip is advanced by said advancingmeans, and means to return said drum to a predetermined angular positionfrom any position to which it is ad-' which is wound spirally into aspool, advancing means engaging a portion of the strip outside of thespool, and means to vibrate the spool as the strip is being advanced toprevent binding of the convolutions of said spool.

19. In combination, an endless strip, part of which is wound spirallyinto a spool, advancing means engaging a portion of the strip outside ofthe spool, means to vibrate the spool as the strip is being advanced toprevent binding of the convolutionsof said spool, means to guide theinnermost convolution of the spool to one side of the plane ofsaid-spool, and means to guide a portion of said strip adjacent theoutermost convolution .of said spool, back to the plane of said spool, Y

LOUIS J. SIMONS.

